Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (Nasdaq:EYES) (“Second Sight” or
“the Company”), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable
visual prosthetics to restore some functional vision to blind patients,
today announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with
distributor Erişçi Elektronik Ltd. (“Erisci Elektronik”) to offer the
world’s first and only FDA approved retinal implant to blind patients in
Turkey.
The Argus II® Retinal Prosthesis is intended to
restore some functional vision to patients who suffer from a rare
opthalmic disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a
genetic disease that can start at an early age, causes vision loss over
time and results in blindness. It is estimated that of Turkey’s
population of 76 million people, approximately 28,000 people suffer from
RP. Second Sight is also developing the OrionTM cortical
prosthesis to restore some vision to individuals legally blind due to
causes other than preventable or treatable conditions. The population of
people potentially eligible for the future Orion cortical prosthesis in
Turkey is over 150,000.
“By offering our Argus II retina implant in Turkey, we are able to
provide patients with RP the ability to lead more independent lives,”
said Dr. Robert Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of Second Sight. “We
are pleased to be working closely with Erisci Elektronik to distribute
our revolutionary product that restores a level of useful vision to
patients affected by the disease. Looking ahead, we believe our
technology will become more widely accepted and, ultimately, lead to a
significantly expanded geographic footprint as we continue to improve
the quality of our existing product, the Argus II, and introduce new
products such as Orion.”
The Argus II retinal implant will initially be offered to eligible RP
patients at two now approved centers in Turkey: in the Ankara University
Medical Faculty Vehbi Koç Eye Hospital by Prof. Dr. Emin Özmert, and in
the Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital Eye Clinic by
Doc. Dr. Dilek Güven. More approved centers are expected to be added in
the near future.
The Argus II retinal implant has been implanted in more than 100
patients in the world. The treatment is currently offered at approved
centers in Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, Switzerland,
United Kingdom, Netherlands, the United States and Canada.
Argus II received CE certification in Europe in 2011 and FDA approval in
the USA in 2013 and is now registered with the Turkish Ministry of
Health. Argus II is currently reimbursed by health authorities in
several countries including the USA, Germany, France and others.
Applications have been submitted to the Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu (“SGK”),
Turkey’s social security institution, to secure reimbursement coverage
for the Argus II in Turkey, which is expected late in 2015.
About Second Sight
Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. was founded in 1998 to create a
retinal prosthesis to provide sight to patients blinded from outer
retinal degenerations such as Retinitis Pigmentosa. Through dedication
and innovation, Second Sight's mission is to develop, manufacture and
market implantable visual prosthetics to enable blind individuals to
achieve greater independence. The company’s U.S. Headquarters are in
Sylmar, California; European Headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
For more information, visit http://www.secondsight.com.
About Erişçi Elektronik
Located in Istanbul, Turkey, Erişçi Elektronik Ltd. was founded in 1990
to serve hearing impaired people. Erişçi Elektronik has more than
fifteen years of experience in cochlear implants, which are surgically
implanted electronic devices that provide sound to patients who are
profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. For more information, visit http://www.biyonikgoz.com
Safe Harbor
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange and Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by
those sections. All statements in this release that are not based on
historical fact are "forward looking statements". While management has
based any forward looking statements included in this release on its
current expectations, the information on which such expectations were
based may change. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors
including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors
and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations sections of our recently filed registration
statement on Form S-1. We urge you to consider those risks and
uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution
readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise
required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or
undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any
change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Copyright Business Wire 2014